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Do you know what Nintendo's successor to the Wii will be called? No? Us neither. That's embarrassing too, because we're supposed to have the scoop on stuff like this.

But beginning at 9 a.m. PDT/12 p.m. EDT, we're finally going to know what Mario and Co. have planned for the year to come. Let's go!

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dse3-2011nintendoproject-cafewiiwii-2Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:12:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/23/nintendo-details-e3-streaming-plans/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/23/nintendo-details-e3-streaming-plans/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/23/nintendo-details-e3-streaming-plans/#comments
As expected, Nintendo has confirmed plans to stream its E3 press briefing. The briefing is slated to take place on June 7 at 9am PT (12pm ET) and promises to offer the first glimpse of Nintendo's Wii successor (and probably Zelda or something).

In order to secure your "virtual front-row seat", be sure to park your web browser at E3.Nintendo.com prior to the event. Additional video content, including trailers and interviews, will also be featured on the site after the briefing is over. "A variety of exclusive content" will also be accessible on the Wii via the Nintendo Channel.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>3dsdse3-2011nintendoproject-cafewiiwii-2Mon, 23 May 2011 14:55:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/03/wii-2-rumors-only-8gb-of-storage-25gb-discs-and-1080p-isnt-a/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/03/wii-2-rumors-only-8gb-of-storage-25gb-discs-and-1080p-isnt-a/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/03/wii-2-rumors-only-8gb-of-storage-25gb-discs-and-1080p-isnt-a/#comments
Citing unnamed (and un-numbered) anonymous sources (plural), Kotaku is reporting a handful of notable, albeit predictable, details about Nintendo's upcoming Wii successor, codenamed Project Café. For instance, in lieu of a capacious hard drive, Nintendo will buck industry trends and offer a humble 8GB of flash-based memory augmented by SD card support. If rumors are true and Project Café offers a graphical experience at least competitive with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, we're not sure what the storage solution for DLC (Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare was over 1.5GB) or larger downloadable games (Comic Jumper is nearly 2GB) will be. With that constraint, digital distribution of retail titles would seemingly be off the table.

Speaking of retail games: Also rumored is the disc format for Project Café. It's said to hold 25GB of data which is roughly three times the size of a dual-layer DVD and over five times the size of the single-layer DVD that most Wii titles use. Also 25GB? A single-layer Blu-ray disc, though it's not clear if Project Café will use that standard or, even if it did, if it would enable movie playback. Despite using DVDs, the Wii famously doesn't support DVD video playback.

Speaking of Blu-ray video playback, the magic number usually tossed about by high-def home theater enthusiasts (and Sony marketing goons) is 1080, as in 1080p video resolution. That's one-thousand-and-eighty progressively scanned lines of resolution. Less popular: 1080i, which, yes, has one-thousand-and-eighty lines of resolution, but they're interlaced. If that doesn't sound familiar, that's because it's been somewhat absent since 1080p-compatible televisions and devices have filled the market. Kotaku reports it's heard "mixed things" as to whether Nintendo plans on offering 1080p (or, as Sony would put it circa 2006, "True HD") or 1080i.

As much as we want to believe every Project Café rumor we hear, we can't forget the delta between the console that Nintendo announced at E3 2006 and the one sitting on the shelf: DVD playback! USB hard drive support! Between now and Café's 2012 launch date, it's anyone's guess.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>nintendoProject-CafewiiWii-2Tue, 03 May 2011 14:45:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/25/probably-not-the-wii-2-part-ii-innovation-on-a-conference-tabl/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/25/probably-not-the-wii-2-part-ii-innovation-on-a-conference-tabl/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/25/probably-not-the-wii-2-part-ii-innovation-on-a-conference-tabl/#comments
Upon seeing these clear photographs of what appear to be a physical model of the "Project Cafe" console from this "Innovation Reinvented" slide, we could react in two ways. First, the photographs could lend credence to the slide, suggesting that all of this is real and the Wii successor truly has the listed features and design.

Conversely, we could conclude that someone either built or made a convincing 3D model of the device based on that slide, thinking that the hours of labor required would be worth it when someone was maybe kind of fooled. As this is the course of events that would best justify our constant cynicism, it should be no surprise that it's the one toward which we're leaning.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>mockupnintendoprobably-not-the-wii-2project-cafewiiwii-2Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/25/wii-successor-2012/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/25/wii-successor-2012/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/25/wii-successor-2012/#comments
Nintendo has officially announced its intention to release a new console in 2012. According to a note published this morning on the company's Japanese investor relations website, "Nintendo Co., Ltd. has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii, which the company has sold 86.01 million units on a consolidated shipment basis between its launch in 2006 and the end of March 2011."

The terse announcement does nothing to clear up rumors surrounding the system, which has been linked to high-definition graphics, motion controls and a handheld touch screen. Less trustworthy industry sources have even indicated that the system's rumored codename, "Project Cafe," hints at its ability to shoot a cappuccino directly into your gaping mouth.

According to the investor note (posted after the break), Nintendo plans to show off a playable model of the Wii successor during this year's E3, which takes places in Los Angeles from June 7th.

Update: Nintendo president Satoru Iwata is quoted in a Reuters article, saying, "We would like to propose a new approach to home video game consoles." This new approach, as you might expect, does not necessarily include 3D displays. "It's difficult to make 3-D images a key feature, because 3-D televisions haven't obtained wide acceptance yet," he said.

We're getting so many images, movies and epic poems that purport to depict Nintendo's rumored new HD console, which goes by the (also rumored) codename of Project Café, that we figured it's time to start throwing them at the wall and seeing what sticks. Today's artifact has popped up on several forums and blogs (we saw it on Destructoid, but you may have caught it elsewhere).

It's a slide from something that reads "Project Café is simply the most developer friendly SDK the industry has ever seen. Deliver unparalleled next generation performance at current generation costs. It doesn't get any easier than this." Also, there's a picture of a box. Is it the Wii 2? Probably not.

If pressed, we'd give it a ... 5/10 for believability. The form factor seems like an evolved Wii, so that's about right, but the wording off the slide feels ... off. What do you think?

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>nintendoprobably-not-the-wii-2project-cafewiiwii-2Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:27:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/21/rumor-wii-successor-has-controller-with-giant-touchscreen-also/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/21/rumor-wii-successor-has-controller-with-giant-touchscreen-also/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/21/rumor-wii-successor-has-controller-with-giant-touchscreen-also/#comments
Some purported new information about the still-unannounced Wii successor paints a surprisingly specific picture of the device's controller. Kotaku reports that, according to unnamed sources, the controller for the "Project Cafe" device will have eight buttons, two analog sticks, a camera ... and an enormous 6.2" touchscreen.

For reference, the DSi XL has 4.2" screens. The Kindle has a 6" screen. If these rumors are true, this controller will likely be crazy expensive. We honestly can't see Nintendo getting away with selling $200+ controllers.

Kotaku also reports that this won't be the only accepted control method. "Project Cafe" will also reportedly support "Wii Remote-style controllers," the site says, though it's currently unknown whether that means the existing Wiimote or a new motion device.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>big-ass-touchscreencontrollernintendoproject-cafewiiwii-2Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:20:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/19/rumor-nintendo-courting-rockstar-for-wii-2-development/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/19/rumor-nintendo-courting-rockstar-for-wii-2-development/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/19/rumor-nintendo-courting-rockstar-for-wii-2-development/#comments
The "Wii 2" rumors are raging again, for sure, but now they're in danger of burning out of control -- so let's backtrack. After delivering some spot-on NGP specs days before Sony's official unveiling ceremony, French tech site 01net earned its web cred. That's why the games media took notice (and some even corroborated) when the wonder site reignited the Wii successor rumors last Thursday, and then tossed in some more fuel the following day.

This week, 01net has come out with another intriguing report about Nintendo's supposed next console: Rockstar's on board. The site's sources claim that the Grand Theft Auto creator is the first confirmed company to secure a developer unit of the new Nintendo hardware. The sources add that the system, said to be codenamed "Project Cafe," is expected to be released in June 2012. And here's where the rumor starts to grow more wild.

Gamekyo somewhat carelessly throws out there that Grand Theft Auto 5 is also rumored for 2012 -- is it? (There's at least been some recentevidence that the next GTA is in the works.) And then, GoNintendo fits it all together: "Rockstar has a dev kit [...] working on GTA V (which is sure to hit PS3/360 as well) [...] hoping to have it available at launch." Eureka? Not quite.

But, boy, if Nintendo is on the verge of announcing the one console to rule them all and has a Rockstar logo to flaunt during the presentation? Talk about printing money ...

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dev-kitgrand-theft-auto-5gta5nintendoproject-caferockstarrockstar-gamessdkwiiwii-2wii-hdTue, 19 Apr 2011 15:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/15/rumor-wii-2-codenamed-project-cafe-controller-includes-built-i/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/15/rumor-wii-2-codenamed-project-cafe-controller-includes-built-i/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/15/rumor-wii-2-codenamed-project-cafe-controller-includes-built-i/#comments
The towering pile of rumors regarding Nintendo's next generation console, supposedly to be announced at E3, continues to grow today with a report from French news site 01net (which divined the hardware specs of the NGP before its official unveiling). Citing unnamed sources, the site claims the system is currently codenamed "Project Café," and adds that it does feature hardware resembling that of the Xbox 360, such as a three-core IBM PowerPC CPU.

The real meat of the report isn't in the specs of the console, but rather, its controller. According to 01net, the peripheral will feature a six-inch single-input touchscreen -- which corroborates a similar report published by CVG yesterday. The French site also says the controller features a standard set of buttons, a front-mounted camera (what?) and can even function as a Wii sensor bar, should the player choose to indulge in the console's built-in backwards compatibility. That's actually pretty believable -- after all, the same effect can be achieved using a pair of candles.

We'll keep an ear to the ground for any additional reports of a touchscreen-infused remote for the heavily rumored console. At the very least, we can be certain that over the course of the next few nights, visions of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures will be dancing through our heads.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>01netcontrollerhardwarenintendoproject-cafesystem-specstouchscreenwiiwii-2Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/14/rumor-multiple-sources-claim-new-nintendo-console-reveal-at-o/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/14/rumor-multiple-sources-claim-new-nintendo-console-reveal-at-o/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/14/rumor-multiple-sources-claim-new-nintendo-console-reveal-at-o/#comments
Rumors of a "Wii 2" or "Wii HD" have been flying since ... well, pretty much since the Wii launched, but when an outlet the size of Game Informer piles on, it's tough not to take notice.

The publication says it's hearing from multiple sources that Nintendo will announce a new home console at or before E3. According to hearsay, the console would arrive in 2012 and would sport HD graphics, though GI's sources are conflicted about how said graphics would compare to the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Well, there goes our "Schedule Vacations for E3 Week When All The Video Game Journalist Resorts Are Super Empty" plan.

Update:IGN found some anonymous sources of its own, who claim that the new console will be backwards compatible with all Wii games. Its sources say that the console is "significantly more powerful than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360."

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>e3-2011game-informernintendowiiwii-2wii-hdThu, 14 Apr 2011 15:34:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/29/reggie-nintendos-next-home-console-unlikely-to-feature-3d/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/29/reggie-nintendos-next-home-console-unlikely-to-feature-3d/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/29/reggie-nintendos-next-home-console-unlikely-to-feature-3d/#comments
Nintendo believes strongly in glasses-free 3D. The company wouldn't be able to achieve this feat on a home console, short of shipping an innovative TV in the box, so ... it's probably not going to do that.

"I think at Nintendo, we realize that any sort of goggle-type 3D technology was not going to work," 3DS hardware producer Hideki Konno told CNN. "In order to make 3D technology viable with video games, we thought we needed to have glasses-free 3D." Konno and his team at Nintendo did experiment with a 3D display tethered to a Wii before development of the 3DS began, but purely as a proof-of-concept for glasses-free 3D.

Echoing Konno's remarls, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told CNN, "Glasses-free is a big deal. We've not said publicly what the next thing for us will be in the home console space, but based on what we've learned on 3D, likely, that won't be it." It probably won't be 4D either -- that's been done.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>3d3dsconsolehardwarehideki-konnonintendoreggie-fils-aimewiiwii-2Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/reggie-nintendo-not-thinking-seriously-about-next-console-yet/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/reggie-nintendo-not-thinking-seriously-about-next-console-yet/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/reggie-nintendo-not-thinking-seriously-about-next-console-yet/#commentsIn a Forbes interview, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime gave the impression that a new home console from Nintendo is still in the distant future.

"The way we approach that innovation," he said, referring to Nintendo's innovative "jumps" (like the Wii), "because we have hardware developers working side by side with software developers, is that when the software developer comes forward with an idea that can't be executed on the current platform, that's when we start thinking seriously about the next system. We're not there yet, from a Wii perspective." Of course, E3 is still a few months away.

Satoru Iwata recently commented that a Wii successor would "need something new" in addition to HD graphics to be worthwhile, and Fils-Aime, who has previously, "forcefully" denied plans for an Wii HD model, echoed this sentiment. "So when people talk about high definition for the Wii console, our feedback is that that by itself will not create a brand new experience. Therefore, we're not interested. What we have to push for are groundbreaking new experiences. Technology has to enable it, not to be a means all by itself."

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>hardwareNintendoreggiereggie-fils-aimeWiiwii-2wii-hdWed, 10 Mar 2010 12:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/25/dunaway-wii-successor-isnt-coming-anytime-soon/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/25/dunaway-wii-successor-isnt-coming-anytime-soon/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/25/dunaway-wii-successor-isnt-coming-anytime-soon/#commentsGameSpot cornered Nintendo's Cammie Dunaway in a dimly lit back room at yesterday's Nintendo Media Summit and pried loose some information about the Wii's eventual successor. It would seem Nintendo is aiming for PlayStation 2 levels of success with the Wii, which means it'll be around for quite some time before being ousted by a follow-up system.

"I don't think it'll be anytime soon," she said. "Even though our install base is, at this point, five million households larger than the PS2 install base was at the same point in its life cycle, it still has a lot of room to grow. If you think PS2, there's been about 50 million sold -- Wii close to 28 million sold -- so it says to me there's still a big audience out there that we can access with Wii." In a less oblique fashion, she added: "We'll have it ready when we think the time is right."

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cammie-dunawayDSinterviewNintendonintendo-media-summit-2010Wiiwii-2Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/20/miyamoto-wii-successor-will-likely-feature-motion-controls-in/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/20/miyamoto-wii-successor-will-likely-feature-motion-controls-in/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/20/miyamoto-wii-successor-will-likely-feature-motion-controls-in/#commentsIt sounds like Nintendo's plans for the next console are going to continue largely in the direction they've always been going (you know, the one that has resulted in millions of dollars). Shigeru Miyamoto told Popular Mechanics that, despite not having a solid plan yet for upcoming hardware, motion controls are likely to stick around.

"With both the Wii remote itself and Wii MotionPlus, what we've been able to do is introduce an interface that is both I think appealing and at the right price for a broad audience," Miyamoto said. "And while we don't have any concrete plans for what we'll be doing with hardware in the future, what I can say is that, my guess is that because we found this interface to be so interesting, I think it would be likely that we would try to make that same functionality perhaps more compact and perhaps even more cost-efficient."

This could result in a single unit that combines the base Wiimote functionality with the extra accelerometer of the MotionPlus, which makes sense. Or, more excitingly, Miyamoto could be talking about the system being more "compact" and "cost-efficient." Either way, it's starting to look less and less likely that the Wii 2 will be just like its competitors, but with Mario games on it.

In much more importantnews, Miyamoto said that he'd never heard of The Wizard. Bill Trinen's got a night of translating horrible Fred Savage dialogue ahead of him!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>miyamotomotion-controlsmotionplusNintendoshigeru-miyamotoWiiwii-2Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:40:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/22/no-more-heroes-2-is-last-installment-on-wii-next-game-on-new-ni/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/22/no-more-heroes-2-is-last-installment-on-wii-next-game-on-new-ni/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/22/no-more-heroes-2-is-last-installment-on-wii-next-game-on-new-ni/#comments
Clarifying an earlier statement that No More Heroes 2 would be the franchises' last installment on the Wii, creator Suda 51 told 1UP that the upcoming sequel is "the last iteration for this current platform." Suda believes there will be a "Wii 2," and he'd like to do another "game in the series on the next Nintendo platform."

It appears we're now just waiting on Nintendo to unveil the Wii HD (or Wii 2). Then we can ask Mr. 51 about when we can expect an HD-ified No More Heroes.

So, get this: Nintendo, having had pretty incredible success with the Wii, is going to make another one! We know, it sounds crazy ... but so did the idea that we'd still be having trouble finding Wiis into 2009. Despite our fears that Nintendo will continue trickling Wiis out the door until 2027 - at which point it'll finally offer a second, soon-to-be sold-out color offering - former 1UP editorial director John Davison says that "Nintendo is currently showing early presentations of its next home console hardware" (according to "multiple sources in the game development and publishing community" that is!).

So what's Wii 2 (Super Wii? Wii Advance?) got? According to Davison, the few that have seen this mythical beast have dubbed it "Wii HD" - it's got HD visuals (duh), "a greater emphasis on digitally distributed and backwardly compatible content," as well as a familiar "emphasis" on what's in your hand instead of what's next to your futuristic HOLO-TV. With R&D spending at the Big N tripling since the Wii launched in 2006, we're not certain that's just a plain-old-Wiimote anymore. Our best guess now: a HOLO-ARM.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>John-DavisonRumorWiiWii-2Wii-HDWed, 01 Oct 2008 10:45:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/wii-warm-up-the-next-big-thing/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/wii-warm-up-the-next-big-thing/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/wii-warm-up-the-next-big-thing/#commentsToday, over at DS Fanboy, we're discussing the probable changes to the DS Lite, and of course, it's gotten us thinking a little about Wii adjustments. Do you think we'll see a beefed-up version of the little white console? There are some issues with it, certainly, but Nintendo has concentrated most of their hardware re-releases to handhelds in the past.

If you think we will see a Wii-plus, what do you think it'll have? Storage? DVD playback? Something utterly useless? When will it hit?

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>re-releaseredesignwii-2Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/analyst-next-nintendo-console-may-release-before-competition/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/analyst-next-nintendo-console-may-release-before-competition/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/analyst-next-nintendo-console-may-release-before-competition/#commentsWii 2? Click for further Wii mockup lulz.
And statements don't get much vaguer than that, do they? Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian has published an investor note concerning the next round of consoles, full of words such as "may" and "could." According to Sebastian, new hardware is most likely to appear from the industry's major players in 2012, though he thinks Nintendo's next home consolemay release sooner, and could be an upgraded Wii with increased processing power, greater storage for moaning geeks and otaku, and DVD playback capabilities.

Our problem with this? Sebastian seems to automatically assume that Nintendo will simply produce a box stuffed with superior technology. Anybody who has followed Nintendo over the last five years will know that that is probably the last thing the company is likely to do.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>analystbusinesscolin-sebastiandvdspeculationstoragewii-2Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/29/no-duh-nintendo-already-working-on-next-console/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/29/no-duh-nintendo-already-working-on-next-console/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/29/no-duh-nintendo-already-working-on-next-console/#commentsDuring a Forbes piece that takes a look at the future of gaming, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that Nintendo is already working on their next console. The likelihood that we could actually see or be told anything concrete about it is nonexistent, however. Nintendo's current console is both selling far too well and, we imagine, development of their newest console is in the earliest stages, considering the Wii hasn't been on store shelves for two years yet.

"We are always preparing for the next hardware," Iwata said. "We are under development. ... But the hardware is a kind of box that consumers reluctantly buy in order to play our games." Well, we wouldn't say reluctantly, because most people seem to be more than happy to pick up a Wii.

In terms of future specs, Iwata commented that every new piece of hardware "needs some revolutionary features." He also added that "This time around, it happened to be we had a revolutionary user interface. Will it be the same for the next generation? I really can't tell." Considering what the company did with the Wii, we're totally expecting bigger and better things from Nintendo.

President Iwata also went on to comment about how hard it is for them to innovate beyond what they've done this generation. "It's natural for the current customer to expect Nintendo is going to once again do something different. If the people are expecting so many different things from Nintendo, it's going to be difficult for us to go beyond that expectation again."